Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,747 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE NOC opened at $491.98 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $521.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $486.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.48, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $685,273. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.